1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf putter heads, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a golf putter head with improved forgiveness.
2. Description of the Related Art
The game of golf is a game of accuracy, which is based on the lowest score possible. The score is determined by the number of strokes required to place a golf ball in a cup, which resides on a putting green.
There are several factors affecting the score. One of the biggest factors affecting the score is the use of proper clubs, more particularly the golf putter. The important feature of the golf putter is the putter head. The golf ball must be positioned at the center of the striking face of the putter head or the sweet spot, and the sole of the putter head must be parallel to the putting surface, so that an accurate hit can be achieved. Therefore, a well-designed golf putter head should include features that promote accuracy, consistency and forgiveness to minor errors. Two main errors that occur during striking are off center hits and miss hits.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic front view of a conventional putter head. The conventional putter head 100 has a striking face 101 consisting of two parallel markings 102, which indicates a sweet spot region 103 of the putter head 100. A point C located within the sweet spot region 103 indicates the center of gravity of the putter head 100, which also indicates an ultimate point at the striking face for hitting the golf ball. However, when the golf ball is not positioned at the ultimate point of the striking face of the putter head, the golf ball will miss the target line, thus an off center hit results. FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the putter head 100 having an ultimate point A. For a golf ball 202 to be on a target line 200, the golf ball 202 must be located at the ultimate point A of the putter head 100. But if the golf ball is hit at a wrong position, such as point B instead of the ultimate point A, the golf ball 202 will be off set away from the target line 200. A path line 201 shows how the golf ball 202 travels when it is being stroked at the wrong position of the putter head. Due to the rotation motion of the golf ball 202, the greater the distance the golf ball travels, the bigger the offset error away from the target line 200, which is shown by comparing the path line 201 and the target line 200. However, FIG. 3 indicates that when the golf ball 202 is at the ultimate point A but the sole of the putter head is at an anglexcex2 to the putting surface instead of parallel to the putting surface, the golf ball will miss the target line and travels along a path line 301, which is off set away from the target line 200. Thus a miss hit results.
As a matter of fact, a variety of putter heads have been developed which improve striking accuracy, reduce the errors and assist the golfer in visually determining the proper position of the putter head with respect to the golf ball, target line and putting surface. However, the forgiveness of the putter head is not much improved and offcenter hits still occur. Many conventional putter heads have markings, lines, grooves or material layers that assist the golf player in aligning the ball at the sweet spot of the striking face and aligning the striking face perpendicular to the target line. The material layer formed on the sweet spot, which is made of plastic or polymer, can increase cohesiveness between the sweet spot area and the golf ball. In order to achieve proper putter head alignment and position, the golfer must visually center the rearward extension between the two parallel markings. However, the accuracy of this positioning method is dependent on the golf player""s own perception of whether the extension is centered between the markings. Errors often occur when attempting to accurately center the extension between the two markings, resulting in the improper positioning of the putter head, miss hits and off center hit putts. Even if the golf ball is positioned at the sweet spot of the putter head, if the striking angle of the golf club is offset, the golf ball will travel away from the target line and miss hit putts will still result. Therefore, conventional golf putter heads still face the problem of miss hits and off center hits.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a putter head that can improve the forgiving ability.
It is further another object of the present invention to provide a putter head that reduces the problem of miss hits and off center hits.
A golf putter head comprises a main head body, a striking surface and a rear part. A cavity is formed at a central part of the rear part, and two protrusions are formed evenly at both ends of the rear part. A striking portion is designed into a thin shaped structure, so that the center of gravity of the putter head is shifted behind the striking surface. The base of the cavity can be designed a sloped-shaped structure comprising an upper section, a central section and a lower section.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a thickness of the upper section is approximately between 0.4 mm to 1.5 mm, a thickness of the central section is approximately between 1.0 to 10 mm and a thickness of the lower section is approximately between 1 mm and 2.3 mm. It goes without saying that the central section is disposed in the central region of the base of the cavity. A loft angle of the base of the cavity is approximately between 0xc2x0 to 7xc2x0 but is preferably at 4xc2x0 from a clockwise direction.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a thickness of the upper section is thicker than the lower section. A thickness of the upper section of the base is approximately between 1 mm to 2.3 mm, a thickness of the central section is between 1.0 to 10 mm, and the thickness of the lower section is approximately between 0.4 mm to 1.5 mm. A loft anglexcex8 is approximately xe2x88x921xc2x0 from a clockwise direction.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the shape of the central section may comprise, but not limited to a circle, oval, rectangle, and diamond shape. The surface of the central section may cover a surface area of the base of the cavity shape ranging from anywhere between 0 the whole surface area of the base of the cavity, and preferably between xc2xc to xc2xd the surface area of the base of the cavity.
Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the base of the cavity may be manufactured by using a casting method or a wax-off method.